Seal.



No. 883,501. PATENTED MAR. 31, 1908.

J. G. SWALLOW.

SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED 00'1'.5.1ao7.

WITNESSES: Q I I INVENTOR selvh Swallow I A TTORN E 78 rns'mmms PETERScoI, wasmnmrcu, o. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH G. SWALLOW, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEAL.

Application filed October 5, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH G. SWALLOW, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, countyof Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Seals, of which. the following is a specification.

My'mprovement relates to seals and consists essentially in the featureshereinafter set forth.

In the accom anying drawings in which my invention is i lustrated,Figure 1 is a side elevation partly broken away of my improved seal inone form; Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are similar views of the same in modifiedforms; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the seal applied to a sta le; Fig.6 is a cross section of the shack e in modified form Fig. 7 is acrosssection of the shackle with another modification, and Fig. 8 is a planof the mold shown in Fig. 4.

In its broadest aspect my improved seal comprises a frangible shacklethe ends of which are rigidly incased in cement. In the term cement Iintend to include any suitable substance from wax to lead. In the termfrangible I include glass, porcelain and substances of similarcharacter. A seal having this simple construction is illustrated in Fig.1 showing the ends of the shackle a buried in the cement block b whichis molded around the same after the shackle has been inserted in thestaple or other device to be secured, as shown in Fig. 5. Supplementingthe frangible shackle, I prefer to thread through the same a filament cof suitable character, for example wire, so that if the shackle isbroken the wire still serves in its place and must be cut in order tofree the staple. T o accommodate the wire, the shackle may be eitherhollow or solid, the filament being incorporated in the latter case atthe time the shackle is formed (see Fig. 6). If the shackle be madehollow it may be filled with a colored liquid (Z and plugged as shown inFig. 7. The presence of a liquid of unknown character within the tubemay act as a further deterrent to tampering with the seal. This featuremay be introduced as a supplement to or independently of the filament.In addition to the frangible structure of the shackle, it is alsodesirable to use a frangible mold for the cement. This mold may take anysuitable form. Thus in Fig. 2 it is shown as an in- Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented March 31, 1908.

Serial No. 396,016.

verted cup 6 through the top of which the ends of the shackle areinserted, while the cement is filled in through the open bottom.

In Fig. 3 is shown a preferred form in which the mold is a substantiallyclosed chamber, with openings f in the top for the insertion of the endsof the shackle and a fill aperture 9 by means of which the cement may beintroduced.

In Figs. 4 and 8 a single aperture in the form of a slit h in the top ofthe mold is shown. This has the additional advantage that the ends ofthe wire may be interlocked before the shackle is introduced into themold, whereas in the form shown in Fig. 3, the wire ends are merelycurled by striking the bottom of the mold. It is apparent that theshackle cannot be loosed from the mold in these constructions withoutfirst breaking the glass. A colored cement may be used in thisconnection to advantage.

A convenient record 1" of the date and person affixing the seal may bereadily kept either by impressing the same into the cement when no moldis used, (Fig. 1) or by placing the same upon a slip of paper i andpasting the latter on the inner face .of the mold, (Fig. 2).

Itwill be understood that the drawings are merely illustrative and thatthe construction may be varied to meet the peculiar fancy or needs ofthe party using the seal.

I claim as my invention:

1. A seal having a Ushaped frangible shackle and means for rigidlyuniting the ends thereof.

2. A seal having a U-shaped frangible shackle and a cement block rigidlyuniting the ends thereof.

8. A seal having a frangible shackle, a filament within the same andmeans for rigidly uniting the opposite ends of both said shackle andfilament.

4. A seal having a transparent hollow frangible shackle containing aliquid within the same.

5. A seal having a frangible shackle, a cement block rigidly uniting theends thereof and a frangible containing-mold for'said cement block.

6. A seal having a shackle and a cement block uniting the ends of saidshackle in combination with a closed frangible containing mold for saidcement having means for the introduction of the ends of the shackle intosaid mold.

7. A seal having a shackle and a cement name to this specification, inthe presence of block unitingh the elnds of 1 iaid shlackle in comtwosubscribing witnesses. bination Wit a c osed angib e containin mold forsaid cement having an aperture fo JOSEPH SWALLOW' 5 the introduction ofthe shackle and cement Witnesses:

into said mold. F. H. ABEEL,

In testimony whereof I have signed my J. A. CAMPBELL.

